Teen Titans: Twilight of the Gods (IC/Limited Acceptance/S/PG-16)

Hälō · February 24, 2016

"the odds against Shira took a turn for the worse. You see, I am the lead biochemist that worked on this secret security initiative. Out of all my peers, I am the most qualified to develop an antidote and prevent an epidemic outbreak. I am the one responsible for creating Spore, and mark my words, I will be the one to stop it."

"So then what are we standing around here for???" Roxie had been silent to allow her teammates time to formulate a plan. Delicate situations like these had never been the girl's specialty, but after having the risk of her actions causing a lethal bio weapon to be unleashed upon her city tucked away by Lily, Roxie suddenly felt her confidence return. She had dealt with hostage situations many times before , and though the Knight's methods were far more... heavy handed than what she knew her current team was capable off, Roxie was still well aware that this was nothing the teens couldn't handle "If they can't use Spore yet, the only leverage they have is the hostages!" The girl stretched slightly before glancing around the faces of her team,

"We can handle a few normies with guns, guys... " She continued. "We have Blake jam their communications, then join Batsy and I to go in through front and draw their fire, whilst the other three infiltrate the building and secure the hostages." Beaming with confidence, the blonde began twirling her bat with anticipation. "Com'on com'on there people in danger, and my show comes on at 9!"

King K. Azo · February 26, 2016

Batsu sighed contently as he conjured up a flame, drying himself off quickly. It always felt nice to shower after a nice hard workout, and even better to shower and become clean. Still... He was amazed how much he and Roxie sweated... How good it felt... Still, he supposed it'd be polite to clean up the white sticky stuff that was left behind. He also was surprised to learn human bled red instead of white like his people.

Earthlings were weird.

He stretched his arms as he walked into the room everyone was grouped in. Everyone was doing their own thing, having fun, when it happened. Batsu's head snapped up as he listened.

"We are Shira,"

They were making their move? Dammit, just how far behind was this little social group lagging as the enemies were advancing? If it was his old team, they would have crushed these people by now.

Of course, if it was his old team... he never would have been here in the first place...

"Are you watching, Titans? I'm sure you're there, rooted to your seats. Good. This is a direct challenge to the Teen Titans. Do you think you can stop us? Your police forces will sit this one out, but you're welcome to try your luck. Come. Fight. And once you've failed, you will be exposed to the entire city as the failures that you are."

Now they were mocking the team, doubting them. Batsu's rage that he just expended was building up all over again. He would have hit the wall, but it wasn't the one near the kitchen, so he resisted the urge. It took him a bit to suppress his rage enough to a level that he could start listening to the others.

"The odds against Shira took a turn for the worse. You see, I am the lead biochemist that worked on this secret security initiative. Out of all my peers, I am the most qualified to develop an antidote and prevent an epidemic outbreak. I am the one responsible for creating Spore, and mark my words, I will be the one to stop it." Well, that funny feeling in his chest was back, and he was about to smash his hand into the area he felt it to be rid of it. Jijudene-tumdot what was this feeling?!

"So then what are we standing around here for???" Roxie suddenly interjected. "If they can't use Spore yet, the only leverage they have is the hostages!" The girl stretched slightly before glancing around the faces of her team. "We can handle a few normies with guns, guys... " She continued. "We have Blake jam their communications, then join Batsy and I to go in through front and draw their fire, whilst the other three infiltrate the building and secure the hostages." Beaming with confidence, the blonde began twirling her bat with anticipation. "Com'on, com'on, there people in danger, and my show comes on at 9!"

"I don't like this...," Batsu muttered. "They're taunting us, trying to... make us messy," He shook his head, memories of his boot camp coming back to him. "They wouldn't do that unless they were absolutely sure they could take us. Think about it. They knew where we were going to meet Lady Lily. Exactly how much of the knowing do they have? They must have countertraps prepared for us," He normally wouldn't actually care for charging in headfirst and beating all of them into a pulp, but there were hostages involved. He couldn't risk their lives because they were too careless.

Saiba Aisu · March 3, 2016

GM Post:

(Titans Tower, 9:15 P.M.)

"Countertraps are a strong possibility," Lily agreed, nodding along to Batsu's observation. "Even if this hostage situation is nothing but a smokescreen meant to buy time so they can finish weaponizing Spore, don't make the mistake of underestimating the enemy. Shira are ruthless killers with specialized training in military combat and cyberwarfare. They may not be superpowered metahumans, but they won't hesitate to kill you or anyone else if given the chance—so don't give it to them."

"... And on that note," Lily continued, "Blake has already prepared some special anti-hazard helmets for you, just in case Shira's threats to release Spore are more than a simple bluff. I'll let him explain the specifics while I run and fetch them."

The team watched as the government agent excused herself and hurried away back towards the Biochemistry Complex, her long ponytail trailing after her like a fishing lure, while Blake launched into a quick explanation of the mechanics behind the helmets.

"So they're basically just fancy air filters?" Cygnus inquired coolly, raising an eyebrow as Lily reappeared, carrying a storage container filled to the brim with the devices, handing one to each of the Titans, except for the supergenius.

"They're more than just fancy air filters," Blake replied patiently. "Each helmet is equipped with a self-regulating magnetic sensory field, designed to detect and repel incoming impurities, provided they're denser than the surrounding air. They also possess a handful of my suit's standard functions and are capable of mimicking Irene's scanning capabilities... to a lesser extent, of course. Night-vision, infrared, real-time HUD, and so on."

"These helmets will also allow you to communicate on a secure radio frequency, if you wish," Lily added. "If you're going to attempt a rescue mission in enemy-controlled territory, then you should assume that Shira will be watching and listening at all times. Try to avoid using body language to communicate, if possible."

An insistent beeping sounded suddenly—one that the team had come to associate with the Titan Communicators. Kiara flipped hers open at once, gazing down at the now-familiar bushy brown mustache and indignantly flashing grey eyes of Police Chief Rookwood displayed on the miniature screen, the interior of the Council Chamber visible behind him.

"That you, Kiara?" the officer asked gruffly. "Good. Let Cygnus know that next time I see him, I'm going to strangle him for lying to me. I specifically asked if you knew anything about who might be behind the missile attack on the Saint Dominique, and he said no! Now we've got some kind of psychotic terrorist cult loose on the city with at least a hundred hostages in tow, making insane demands and planning only God knows what!"

"Cygnus wasn't lying, Commander Rookwood," Kiara replied, thinking quickly, while the lunar sorcerer rolled his eyes and scowled next across from her. "Shira's actions caught us just as much off-guard as they did you. Still, now that they've shown their faces, so to speak, we have a chance to strike back. Don't worry about the hostages. We're about to head out now, we'll take care of it."

"So you're going to accept the challenge," Rookwood muttered after a moment. "You do know it's most likely a trap, right? We have absolutely no guarantee that Shira is going to play by the rules... We have no guarantee at all, really. You'll be going in blind and deaf."

"We don't have a choice," Kiara answered calmly. "My team and I are the only ones that can get close without risking the hostages' lives. Shira wants us to play their twisted game so that they can humiliate us when we lose. If there's even the slightest chance that we can save those hostages, we have to bet on it. We're the Teen Titans. It's what we do."

"The police are willing to cooperate, of course," the police commander conceded at last, though his words carried the hint of a sigh. "Is there anything we can do to help?"

"Yes," Lily interrupted, swiftly snatching Kiara's Titan Communicator from her hand and raising it to her own face. "Evacuate the area surrounding ACNN24 Headquarters if you haven't already... In fact, send out a city-wide alert immediately, ordering people to stay in their homes until further notice. We don't know when or where Shira will strike next, but the less civilians in the way, the better."

"I didn't know you had company," Commander Rookwood coughed stiffly, locking eyes with the young woman, clearly displeased by her informal tone. "And just who in the blue hell might you be?"

"The team babysitter," Lily replied with a dazzling smile, winking cheekily at the police officer.

"A... babysitter. I see. Tell me, young lady, do you generally make a habit of interfering with police internal security affairs?"

"That all depends," she mused sarcastically, tapping her lips with a perfectly manicured nail, pretending to think. "Do you generally make a habit of turning to a group of teenagers for help when you get outhacked and outwitted by terrorists in your own city?"

"Insubordination!" Police Chief Rookwood roared, his mustache bristling as he slammed his fist into the desk before him.

"Give me that!" Kiara growled, scowling as she snatched back the device before the biochemist could do any more damage. "Commander Rookwood? What have Moretti and the other City Council members decided? They're not actually going to capitulate and hand over control of the city, are they?"

"No, of course not. We don't negotiate with terrorists... At least, not over the lives of a few hostages. Still, there's something that's bothering me. Shira mentioned that this was only a small display of their power, that you knew what was at stake if we didn't play along with their little game... Whatever that means."

For the second time that night, Police Chief Rookwood fixed the team of six young heroes with an intense penetrating gaze that would have put an x-ray to shame, as if he were peering into the very depths of their souls.

"Kiara, is there anything else I should know? Any other nasty surprises that Shira might have in store?"

"I—" she began, floundering, momentarily overwhelmed with guilt. She knew that Sybil had sworn them to the strictest secrecy regarding Spore. If the Titans ended up losing to Shira, Aurora City would doomed. But if the origin of the bioweapon came to light, then the repercussions across the political system would be swift and relentless—in the worst case scenario, it might even lead to war. There was more at stake here than the fate of one city, she knew that... She only wished that the circumstances didn't force her to lie to her allies.

"There's nothing," she managed at last. "We don't know anything more than you do. Let's hope that whatever Shira is threatening us with, it turns out to be a bluff."

"God willing," Commander Rookwood replied, sighing again, his brow furrowed with stress. Apparently, Cygnus being able to lie didn't come across as a surprise to him, but Kiara never would. The team leader's feelings of guilt deepened, but she did her best to keep a straight face. Now was not the time to let her emotions get the best of her.

"Just to be safe, though, stay close to the City Council members," she advised. "Once it becomes clear that they're not going to cooperate, Shira is bound to threaten them again. Bluff or not, I'd feel a lot better knowing that you and your men are watching their backs."

"Naturally. Leave that part to us. You just focus on saving those hostages. We'll keep our eyes open in the meantime, in case Shira tries to pull another fast one."

"If you issue a city-wide alert ordering people back into their homes for their own safety," Lily interjected primly, raising her voice as she peeked over Kiara's shoulders, "it will make it easier to keep track of what's going on and isolate any abnormal movements."

"Not a bad idea," Police Chief Rookwood admitted stiffly. "For a babysitter, that is. We'll keep it in mind... and we'll keep in touch. Good luck, Titans. Godspeed."

La Crescenta Entertainment District, Aurora City News Network (ACNN) 24 Headquarters, 9:25 P.M.

An eerie silence hung upon the frozen air as the Teen Titans huddled together in the shadows of a nearby alley, their gazes trained upon the magnificent structure that lay before them. Sleek, elegant, and superbly futuristic, the building that served as ACNN24's headquarters climbed high into the night sky, a towering expanse of reflective glass and gleaming metal, until it seemed to scrape the very heavens themselves. At the very top of the tower, so high up they had to crane their necks back, the team could just make out a series of sharp needle-like structures, lined with softly blinking red lights—the antennae being used by Shira to broadcast their sinister messages.

"It's too quiet, I don't like it," Cygnus muttered, turning his head this way and that as he scanned the nearby area, looking for any signs of life. Only a stone's throw away from the Ban-Ko District, La Crescenta was normally a cacophony of lights, sound, and movement, packed to the brim with all kinds of entertainers and celebrities jostling briskly along, competing to capture the public's attention. This night, however, there was nothing to be seen—everything was as silent and still as a graveyard. Perhaps Police Chief Rookwood had taken up Lily on her suggestion, after all?

"Not to mention this clunky helmet," the lunar sorcerer added, ruefully tapping the side of his helmeted head. "I don't know how you put up with this, Blake."

"The helmet isn't clunky, Cygnet," Lily's voice replied smugly, issuing smoothly from the interior speakers of the team's helmets, as if its owner were standing right next to them rather than several miles away. "It's meant to protect you from airborne toxins like Spore, and it will do the job just fine."

"So you can hear us, too?" Batsu asked, cocking his head to one side quizzically.

"That's correct, Pazu. And not just that—everything that you can hear or see, I can hear and see as well. I'll be maintaining an open channel of communication with you in order to provide logistical support and update you in case Shira decides to broadcast again. If for whatever reason you need to contact Officer Walrus again, I suppose I could facilitate that for you, too."

"And you're planning to do all this while creating an antidote for Spore?" Ben asked, whistling softly. "Don't you need to, you know, concentrate?"

"Don't worry your pretty little head about it, Benedict," she replied, her confident tone leaving no room to doubt her words. "I excel at multi-tasking."

"Oi, not to be a pain in the arse," Roxie interrupted shortly, striding forward, twirling Arondite impatiently with one hand. "But didn't that Shira rotter say something about executing hostages?"

"Roxie's right," Kiara said, chiming in from the back of the group. "There's no time to waste. Let's move. Keep your eyes open and watch for traps."

The Titans emerged from the shadowy mouth of the alley as one in a diamond formation, their helmets glinting faintly in the overhead light as they moved slowly but steadily towards the tower, crossing the deserted no-man's land. As they advanced, Blake turned his head from side to side rapidly, toggling between visors as he zoomed in, scanning their surroundings in a variety of different spectrums.

Night-Vision... X-Ray... Sonar... Thermal...

"You're being awfully careful, aren't you?" Lily's voice purred in his ear, while computerized beeps sounded faintly in the distance; evidently, the biochemist had already begun formulating an antidote.

"Shira's already caught us twice by surprise," the supergenius replied absentmindedly. "First time's funny, second time's stupid, third time is a—"

There was a sudden faint flash of distorted movement, high up on the rooftops of two nearby buildings that flanked them on either side, as if an invisible current had passed by, stirring the water in its wake. So subtle, he would have missed it if he hadn't been looking for it. Movement... But no heat signatures.

Optical camouflage.

"COVER!!!" Blake yelled, as a hail of bullets exploded out of thin air, shrieking as they tore down towards them.

Without bothering to look back, the Titans threw themselves forward in a series of leaps and dodge-rolls, only just managing to evade getting skewered by the deadly shower, a chorus of sickening cracks filling their ears as the concrete behind them buckled and shattered under the bullets' sheer

. There was no time to devise a counter-strategy for defeating their invisible assailants, and the tower was still out of reach—the heroes were trapped in the middle of a barren plain, caught squarely in a perfect ambush, and the next salvo was already on its way...

"GET BEHIND ME!!!"

A shimmering wall of translucent moonlight blossomed in the darkness at the last second, curving over them and expanding outwards to absorb the incoming projectiles.

"THE DOOR!!" Cygnus shouted, gritting his teeth, struggling to keep the barrier intact as the bullets tore into it savagely one after another, causing it to shudder violently with each impact. "GET THE DOOR!"

There was a blur of brilliant gold—one moment Roxie was there, the next, she had slipped into Overdrive Mode, rapidly accelerating towards the tower, leaving the rest of the team behind. Coming to a halt before the elegant plexiglass doors, Roxie hefted Arondite with a roar, letting loose with a single full-powered blow so powerful that it blasted apart not just the doors, but also a good portion of the entire wall.

"Inside, everyone!" Kiara commanded, leading the way as the team hauled ass towards the safety of the tower. Cygnus was the last to cross the threshold of the building, walking in reverse, his extended arms trembling from the strain, his magical shield practically reduced to nothing. Once he was far enough inside and safely out of the line of fire, the lunar sorcerer lowered his arms and released the spell, falling backwards against a nearby desk. A massive dimly lit lobby reminiscent of a bank or a hotel lay around them, complete with tall columns, glistening marble floors, and a veritable jungle of potted plants, while a quietly bubbling fountain dominated the center of the room. Dozens of unmarked doors lined the walls and upper floors, while at the far end, three large elevators could be seen.

"What the hell were those things?" Cygnus demanded at last, catching hold of a wooden corner with one hand, trying to steady his breathing. "I've never seen bullets like that before, I could barely keep my barrier up against them!"

"Most likely armor-piercing high velocity bullets," Lily's voice replied, hazarding a guess, prompt as ever but undeniably shaken. "Military-grade weapons capable of putting dents in even the most durable of substances. I had heard that certain special ops government divisions were experimenting with them, but I never dreamed that Shira would have... That they could have..."

"The enemy was using some kind of optical camouflage device to bend light around them," Blake added. "Hidden in plain sight... Ingenious. Whatever the hell it is, it treats x-ray, sonar, and thermal vision spectrums like they're not even there... If it hadn't been for that slight distortion effect when they moved to take aim..."

"We're safe for the moment, that's all that matters," Kiara interrupted firmly, trying to bring the matter to heel. Not even ten minutes into their rescue mission, and they had already fallen headfirst into an ambush—not exactly the best way to start things. They had to stay focused and on task: every passing moment was a few more seconds shaved off from the lives of Shira's first victims. "Let's reassess the situation as quickly as possible and then keep moving. Spread out for some preliminary recon and search for clues, but don't go too far—there might be more than just invisible enemies lurking about."

[spoiler=OOC. Please Read.]Alright guys, here we go! Thanks so much for your patience and understanding while I sorted out real-life aggro—it means the world to me. I'm pleased to say that we are officially back in business! Our heroes have just managed to escape a deadly ambush by the skin of their teeth, but they're not in the clear yet... On the contrary, they're currently stuck in a massive labyrinthine room, filled with any number of possible ways to advance, most likely under enemy surveillance. For now, have your character react to the recent/current developments and then branch off and engage in some preliminary reconnaissance (you are free to RP any additional details of the room as you see fit, provided you do not leave it). Proceed with caution, however—like Kiara said, there's no way of knowing what kind of surprises Shira has in store for our heroes. Once everything is squared away, I'll proceed with the next GM Post. Teen Titans, GO~!

Some quick notes:
1. As of now, all of our characters are equipped with Blake's special anti-hazard helmet (except for Blake himself, who is just wearing his regular armorsuit) in order to protect from airborne toxins. As mentioned before, these helmets possess the ability to scan your surroundings in a variety of spectrums, which could be very helpful for finding clues... Then again, if the enemy is using state-of-the-art cloaking technology, their combat applications might be a bit limited.
2. Please refer to the short clip provided in the hyperlink above to get an idea of the destructive power of these "high-velocity bullets" (capable of punching through heavily-armored targets), as well as the cloaking technology being employed by Shira.
3. I will providing additional details and instructions in the Skype chat. Any questions or concerns will be addressed there.

Super Chaos Sonic · March 4, 2016

"Each helmet is equipped with a self-regulating magnetic sensory field, designed to detect and repel incoming impurities, provided they're denser than the surrounding air. They also possess a handful of my suit's standard functions and are capable of mimicking my Sharingan's scanning capabilities... to a lesser extent, of course. Night-vision, infrared, real-time HUD, and so on."

That was what Blake explained as the fancy new helmets that he brought to them. In short, they were able to breathe with these little contraptions, as well as have the abilities of Satellite's abilities when it comes to scanning and what not. A smart move on his part...however...

Heh, this doesn't sit well with me exactly. Benjamin sighed as he tossed his goggles and hood back on, before putting the helmet on. After all, I prefer my regular look, but c'est la vie*.... he thought chuckling.

"That you, Kiara? Good. Let Cygnus know that next time I see him, I'm going to strangle him for lying to me. I specifically asked if you knew anything about who might be behind the missile attack on the Saint Dominique, and he said no! Now we've got some kind of psychotic terrorist cult loose on the city with at least a hundred hostages in tow, making insane demands and planning only God knows what!"

And today seemed to be going alright...then he calls... Arachnid sighed to himself, rolling his eyes as Kiara and even Lily were talking to Rockwood. Regardless, the team (mainly Lily) gave the Police Chief a suggestion on dealing with the populace.

It was just up to them now...

From afar the ACNN24 headquarters seemed nothing but a small building, especially looking at it from Titan's Tower. But now? Arachnid could almost compare it to the Tower of Babel. Regardless, the silence was broken by Cygnus and he had to agree on both points: it WAS rather quiet in this portion of the city...but also about the clunky helm-

"The helmet isn't clunky, Cygnet, It's meant to protect you from airborne toxins like Spore, and it will do the job just fine."

Arachnid was caught off guard by the sounds of Lily's voice as he shook his head. So now apparently she could communicate with them and hear every word they said... Joy....

"That's correct, Pazu. And not just that—everything that you can hear or see, I can hear and see as well. I'll be maintaining an open channel of communication with you in order to provide logistical support and update you in case Shira decides to broadcast again. If for whatever reason you need to contact Officer Walrus again, I suppose I could facilitate that for you, too."

"And you're planning to do all this while creating an antidote for Spore?" Arachnid asked, whistling softly. "Don't you need to, you know, concentrate?"

"Don't worry your pretty little head about it, Benedict, I excel at multi-tasking."

He heard her response and facepalmed, if only to hear his "name" butchered by this girl. Urge...for "That's not my name" joke...rising!!! he thought, before sighing. "Excel at multi-tasking? Oh good so your just like everyone else who says they have skills multi-tasking." he chuckled.

As the team continued, they kept switching between the many views the helmet had to offer. Unfortunately, Arachnid had another view he could use, but the helmet wasn't giving it to him. And everything was going sm-

"COVER!!!"

"THE DOOR!! GET THE DOOR!"

"Inside, everyone!"

It happened as quickly as it did. Blake noticed the movement first and suddenly a hailstorm of bullets went flying towards them. Luckily Cygnus protected them with a wall while Roxie was already got down the door (and wall) before everyone rushed inside for safety. Arachnid couldn't believe that this was an ambush...but then again, he could. It was one of the most long-established military tactics, so it wasn't uncommon.

"Let's reassess the situation as quickly as possible and then keep moving. Spread out for some preliminary recon and search for clues, but don't go too far—there might be more than just invisible enemies lurking about."

"Aye aye, Captain Arcana." Arachnid nodded as he moved towards the nearest wall and started scaling it, making his way as they started splitting up, looking for clues. Jeez...this whole look for clues is making this sound like some cheesy detective cartoon...one usually with a talking animal...

BGM

He shook this thought off as he just remained on the ceiling, watching as the spiders starting to pour from his pores. "Alright fellas...time to get to work." he nodded, as the spiders just dispersed. Arachnid knew that if they would find something that they would fire off a signal...all he needed to do was wait. But then again...waiting wasn't his style.

Arachnid crawled along the ceiling of the first floor and remained silent as he could. I have no idea what I'm even looking for...but then again, this whole stealthy recon stuff is definitely one of my fortes... he smiled to himself, as he leaned up along a wall and switched through his visions again through the helmet. So far nothing...though he expected as much.

He looked around again, before seeing and smelling a certain pheromone. Arachnid could only grin as he knew what this signified...his spiders found something or someone.

Arachnid slowly began to crawl towards the one corner of the room, seeing where the spider was at. And to be honest, he was impressed that this wasn't noticed before. There was a radio walkie-talkie out in the open on this desk in a cubicle. Just out in the open. You would think that there would be som-

No...it's way too easy. Arachnid thought. He didn't learn much on the deductive arts from Jaden, but he did learn somethings. And this was one of those rules: things out in the open, are always a trap. If that's the case... Arachnid watched as the spider that found the walkie-talkie swing its web towards him. "Alright...four legs up on the left if it's a trap...four on the right if it's not." he whispered quietly to the spider. The spider was still for the longest, but finally lifted up it's four legs on the left. It was a trap...

Ren✧ · March 5, 2016

"The helmet isn't clunky, Cygnet..." Kiara drowned the rest of Lily's long winded spiel by silently disagreeing with her. The helmets were clunky. They were cumbersome and no doubt too many of the team's dismay, they did not go with anything. Still, she wasn't going to complain. They would literally be a lifesaver if things went sideways. Of course, the telepath couldn't help but worry that with all the metal and wires around her head if her telepathy would still work. If it didn't, could she really afford to sacrifice such a key weapon for the protection the helmet offered?

About to test her telepathy out to put her worries to ease, Kiara's mental fog was penetrated by a familiar British twang. "Oi, not to be a pain in the arse, but didn't that Shira rotter say something about executing hostages?"

"Roxie's right," Kiara said, her mind refocused on the task at hand. Shira could not be allowed to hurt her city, their city, anymore than it already had. "There's no time to waste. Let's move. Keep your eyes open and watch for traps."

The Titans moved towards the ACNN24 building, taking their first steps into the mouth of beast's den. When the first barrage of bullets came raining down like Hellfire, Kiara immediately rolled for cover. It was a stupid mistake, but she had misjudged how far away the nearby abandoned car was that she had planned to hide behind. Still exposed, clipped the top of her shoulder. The projectile ricocheted upward and away, harmlessly, but the force of the collision knocked Kiara straight on her back. Regaining her wits, Kiara immediately shouted to her teammates, "Inside, everyone!" The sparse cover outside broadcasting station wouldn't protect them for long.

Just barely making it inside thanks to Cygnus, Kiara examined her shoulder. Physically it was fine thanks to the magical barrier that protected her. However, the barrier it was not in good shape. Just the single bullet had managed to dampen the protective powers of over a dozen of her sigils.

"What the hell were those things? I've never seen bullets like that before, I could barely keep my barrier up against them!" Cygnus demanded, clearly exhausted by his efforts.

"Are you okay?" Kiara asked the sorcerer telepathically, not even taking a moment to consider whether or not the helmet would hinder her abilities. Clearly it didn't. It seemed that in just the initial assault Shira had managed to weaken two of the Titans. Herself and Cygnus. Things were not off to a good start.

"Most likely armor-piercing high velocity bullets," Lily's voice replied, hazarding a guess, prompt as ever but undeniably shaken. "Military-grade weapons capable of putting dents in even the most durable of substances. I had heard that certain special ops government divisions were experimenting with them, but I never dreamed that Shira would have... That they could have..."

"That explains it..." Kiara muttered to herself, glad that she at least had a cause to place to an effect for the weakening of her protective barrier.

"The enemy was using some kind of optical camouflage device to bend light around them," Blake added. "Hidden in plain sight... Ingenious. Whatever the hell it is, it treats x-ray, sonar, and thermal vision spectrums like they're not even there... If it hadn't been for that slight distortion effect when they moved to take aim..."

"That means it'll be up to me find any of those bastards that could be sneaking around here. Fortunately, they can't camouflage their minds." Of course...they could, if they had the training. Which at this point, wouldn't surprise her. There was not reason to worry the time with that bit of information though.

"Let's reassess the situation as quickly as possible and then keep moving. Spread out for some preliminary recon and search for clues, but don't go too far—there might be more than just invisible enemies lurking about."

Figuring that the rest of the team would take care to find any physical clues that might be present, Kiara took a seat next to the giant fountain in the lobby and closed her eyes. She of course saw the team's minds first. They were so much brighter than the other pinpricks around them. She forced herself to turn away from their brilliance so she could focus. Focus on the swarm of other lights nearby. They would be important.

She could sense a cluster of people several floors up emanating nothing but fear. They would have to be the hostages. Kiara tried to mark the floor that they were on. It was a bit harder to do psychically, but she thought maybe she could sense them on the third or fourth floor. Outside their room was what she assumed were guards. It was impossible to say how many there were, there were too many strong emotions piled on top of each other for Kiara to focus on especially when they were so far away. Otherwise, she sensed several patrols on each level. The patrols consisted primarily of groups numbering from 3 to 4. The patrol on the first floor was a quite a ways from the lobby, but they were moving in the Titan's direction. Not that this was surprising, their presence here wasn't exactly unknown. The patrol outside probably saw them take cover inside.

Retreating back into her mind, Kiara was careful to leave up a psychic aura to sense when an unfamiliar person got close. With those stupid cloaks, the Titans wouldn't have a lot of warning before running into a patrol. "This was what I was able to gather from my telepathic scan..." Kiara began to relay into the helmet's communicator, hoping that Shira didn't somehow happen to have some tech that would screw that up to.

Mr. Hyde · March 5, 2016

"We're safe for the moment, that's all that matters. Let's reassess the situation as quickly as possible and then keep moving. Spread out for some preliminary recon and search for clues, but don't go too far—there might be more than just invisible enemies lurking about."

They had safely gotten into the ACNN24 building. That sneak attack by the invisible assailants had caught him quite off guard. With his visual prowess, anything that was invisible to all sorts of scanning capabilities sure would give him a run for his money. However, now that they were in the building, they had fallen right into the hands of Shira.

"Out of the frying pan...and into the fire, huh?" His team had already scattered, scouting the area for clues. "What are we? Detectives now?" Sighing, he thought how Roxie and Batsu were feeling about the situation. Even with the helmets he had created, the tech would seem foreign. By the looks of it, Ben and Kiara seemed to be doing just fine, but Roxie was fidgeting more. It was almost comical. As a matter of fact, his teammates all wearing a primitive version of his own helmet almost seemed hilarious. Would they all use the helmet from now on since it came with even more abilities? Would they get jealous that he hadn't created anything else for the team?

He pushed the thoughts to the back of his mind. They were in hostile territory after all. Shira most definitely already had them where they wanted them. Looking around the lobby, he could spot several security cameras. If Shira was as competent as the team, and Lily, were letting on, they most certainly had an eye on them. They were watching there every move, waiting to shut the trap on them. They were in the dark. Even with the helmets, they were all blind to the situation...

Blind...in the dark....bingo!

Blake's interface started calling the police chief. After a couple of rings, it was picked up.

"Hello? This is a secure line! How'd you get this number!"

"Chief Rockwood, It's Satellite...from the Teen Titans."

"Made it into the building alright m'boy?"

"Yes, barely. We're up against some tough opposition. We can't afford to not have any info pertaining to this case. So with that, I need a favor."

"Anything that can help this situation from escalating!"

"I need a detailed floor plan of the building. Send it to the link I provide you. We'll contact you when this is all over. Satellite, out." Blake closed the communication channel. Within mere moments, a schematic to the building showed on his HUD. He smiled when he found the room that he was looking for.

"This was what I was able to gather from my telepathic scan..." Kiara's scans showed all the oppositions units relative to where the team was.

"Let me layer my floor plan on top of it...compliments to Rockwood." With the floor plan, and Kiara's psychic radar overlapping, the team had a very clear sense of where each patrol was on their HUD's. "Now...since Shira's got this place on lockdown, I say we leave them in the dark as much as we were." Blake highlighted a specific room on the HUD: the generator room. "I say we take out the generator, and the backup generator. Without eyes throughout the building, literally and technologically, we'll be at an advantage!"

The boy really was a genius. Now he would have to add detective to his credentials as well.

Saiba Aisu · March 6, 2016

"Are you okay?" Kiara asked Cygnus, directing her question to him telepathically.

"I'm fine," he replied, straightening from the desk, dusting himself off, his breathing much steadier than before. "I just wasn't expecting them to have that kind of firepower."

It was a sign of how much their friendship had improved over the past few months that he chose to respond psychically to the girl. At first, Kiara's habit of reaching out to other people's minds had ruffled his feathers, so to speak; now, it was a natural part of their relationship.

"Spread out for some preliminary recon and search for clues," Kiara ordered, speaking aloud to the rest of the team while she took a seat by the fountain and closed her eyes, deep in concentration.

Cygnus nodded, recognizing the telltale signs of one of Kiara's psychic trances. He knew that the team could count on her to pinpoint the location of the hostages and determine their next objective—in the meantime, it was up to the rest of them to secure the surrounding area and search for clues. As the other Titans split up, the sorcerer took off in his own direction, advancing slowly through the jungle of potted plants, his ears filled with the soothing sound of the massive fountain at the heart of the room, punctuated by the occasional remark from his friends.

Although his intentions may have been good, Cygnus realized very quickly that he wouldn't be much help in tracking down clues. Lunar sorcery wasn't particularly suitable for sleuthing, and while he wasn't as technologically challenged as say, Roxie or Batsu, he wasn't completely comfortable with it, either. The visor system Blake had developed may have been state-of-the-art, but that didn't mean it was user friendly... Time and time again, Cygnus found himself struggling to toggle correctly between the different spectrums, cursing silently to himself every time he messed up. He only hoped that Lily was too busy working on the antidote for Spore or watching the rest of the team's visual feeds to notice the trouble he was having—otherwise, she'd have an absolute field day with poor little Cygnet.

It didn't take long for Kiara and Blake to come up with results—by combining the former's telepathic scan with the latter's floor plans of the building, the team now had a very clear sense of the surrounding layout and enemies. Brilliant.

I should have thought of that, Cygnus thought, sighing silently, listening as Blake proposed to shut down the tower's generators in order to put Shira at a disadvantage, while his HUD automatically updated to incorporate the new information. One more sweep, then he'd turn around and head back to the others... Wait, what was that? There, on the floor!

Not believing his eyes, Cygnus bent down, examining a strange set of skid marks. They were almost like pronged tracks, three toes in the front, one in the back... But what kind of animal could leave prints like that, especially on marble? It would have to be incredibly heavy...

"Guys, I think I found something!" Cygnus called, zooming in and clumsily snapping a shot of the scene with his helmet's camera. "The only problem is that I have no idea what it is... Sending you a copy now via file-sharing."

"Fascinating."

The Agent of Shira leaned in closer to the screen with interest, the green eyes of its ghastly avian mask flashing with sinister light. The square display was connected to a live feed, tied to the dozens of security cameras within the Main Atrium. The images of the six Teen Titans were clearly visible as the young heroes split up, poking around the massive room in their own way, putting their unique abilities and deductive skills to use. One of them was crawling along the walls in a rather unnerving fashion in apparent defiance of gravity, seemingly unleashing a swarm of black spiders from his body, which quickly surged forward at his command, guiding him towards one of the room's many booby traps... Two others had yet to move, standing listlessly about, as if unsure how to proceed. Another was sitting cross-legged by the central fountain, apparently in a meditative trance of some kind... Yet another, clad in a full-body armorsuit, stood still and upright, most likely relaying information to the others... And there, kneeling among the potted plants, was the last of them, clad in some kind of nobleman's outfit, the one that had generated the energy barrier that had ruined their initial ambush...

They were an impressive group, to be sure, but they were wasting their time. Even if they did manage to piece together any clues left behind from when Shira had stormed the building, there was no way that they would get far enough to rescue the hostages. Already, time was running out until the first execution—only ten minutes were left before the next broadcast, before the new destiny of Aurora City was set forth into motion. Forever.

The masked figure let an intoxicating shiver of pure anticipation run through its cloaked frame; as always, the thrill of opening the eyes of the uninitiated made it come alive like nothing else could. The only question now was, kill the Titans before or after the hostage execution? The idea of broadcasting the slaughter of the city's beloved heroes on live television was extremely tempting... But then again, it would be underwhelming to hasten things, especially after they had managed to survive this far... They were worthy prey. Better to save the moment until after the Titans had realized the depth of their failure, yes...

"Master, we are in position and await your orders."

The Agent of Shira shifted in its seat as a voice sounded quietly from the speaker in its ear.

"Excellent, Carrion," it replied. "Keep your men on standby until further notice, but exercise caution. One of them is a telepath—get too close, and even your mental training won't be enough to prevent her from detecting you."

"Understood. Over and out."

Hidden on the third floor of the atrium, clinging upside-down to the vaulted marble ceiling, Carrion and the rest of his men nestled deeper into the shadows, their eyes trained with deadly intensity upon the six teenagers below them. As long as they made no sudden movements, their optical camouflage would render them completely invisible. Unlike the barren no-man's land outside the tower, the Main Atrium was full of columns and furniture that could serve as cover, making another sniper attack impractical. In any case, the Master's orders had been very specific—when the time came, the Titans were to be cut down in melee combat. To the unaided eyes of the citizens of Aurora City, it would appear as if their beloved champions were being ripped to shreds by vengeful ghosts. Perfect.

Carrion smiled behind his mask, his eyes narrowing, licking his lips with anticipation, his fingers itching to draw his vibro-blade and slit their throats, one by one. Soon.

[spoiler=OOC. Please Read.]

Alright guys, some quick notes:

1. As of now, thanks to Kiara and Blake's combined efforts, the team's HUD (heads-up display) has been updated to reflect the floor plan of the ACNN24 Tower, complete with rough estimates of where the surrounding enemies and hostages are, as well as the location of the generator room in the basement. Nevertheless, it would appear that there are some enemies in the not-so-far vicinity that Kiara was unable to detect for some reason...

2. Thanks to Ben's spiders, he's found a walkie-talkie, which appears to be a trap of some kind... How to proceed?

3. Cygnus has stumbled across a mysterious set of tracks on the floor... What could they be?

As always, questions and comments will be addressed in the Skype chat. Cheers!

Super Chaos Sonic · March 6, 2016

"This was what I was able to gather from my telepathic scan..."

"Let me layer my floor plan on top of it...compliments to Rockwood."

Arachnid saw the now layered scans from both Kiara and Blake, as he nodded. Seemed like both Kiara and Blake already had their things together for the team to see. This meant that he needed to get this walkie-talkie before him on this desk. Having this...I can get it to Blake and have him use the communications chip inside it to tap into Shira's communication grid. he thought with a nod.

A few moments later, a small group of spiders crawled up towards his head. He noticed them as he pointed down at the walkie-talkie, before seeing them jump down from the ceiling and landing on the cubicle's desk. Arachnid nodded as he did his best to concentrate, watching the group of spiders surround the walkie-talkie and begin to lift it up. Awesome...now we're in business... he smirked, as he watched the spiders slowly climb up the side of the wall, keeping a firm hold of the device. Before too long, the spiders returned to Arachnid's side, as he took the walkie-talkie from them. "Got it." he said quietly as he started crawling away from the cubicle. "Guys, I'm returning to rendezvous with you. Blake...I have something we might be able to use." he said. "How good are you at tapping into communications chips from a walkie-talkie?"

As he waited for a response from Blake, he got the shared file that Cygnus sent. He paused his stride along the ceiling and examined the image carefully. A footprint...in a marble floor? And in a four toed prong shape? "Ordinarily, Swan Prince, I'd be asking what are you trying to pull...but the fact that it's a footprint in marble has me worried." Arachnid quickly responded. "Not only that...but I don't recall any living animal having a print like that. Then again, magical creatures are ones I don't know too much about. Regardless, with this, I'm gonna suggest to keep on guard."

Hälō · March 8, 2016

"This was what I was able to gather from my telepathic scan..."

"Let me layer my floor plan on top of it...compliments to Rockwood."

"Guys, I think I found something! The only problem is that I have no idea what it is... Sending you a copy now via file-sharing."

Roxie watched as the screen of the her helmet came alive with new information granted to them by a impressive combination of technology and telepathy from Blake and Kiara. Glancing over to where Cygnus had spotted the peculiar foot print, Roxie let out a light groan as Ben's voice suddenly sounded inside the cursed metal contraption that sat uncomfortably atop her head.

"Guys, I'm returning to rendezvous with you. Blake...I have something we might be able to use.How good are you at tapping into communications chips from a walkie-talkie?"

"Benjie, we're going up against a fancy pants evil organization... you really think they'ed just leave a walkie-talkie laying around for us to do techy-fix it things to?" The blonde spoke into her mic in a tone that was uncharacteristically irritable. Shifting slightly from her seat atop the water fountain that lingered in the center of the room, Roxie took a moment to idly inspect the regal looking marble ceiling before lowering her gaze to where Ben had crawled off to. "Put that thing down before you blow yourself up or something, ya?"

Whilst she waited for conformation that Ben had gotten rid of the obvious trap, the former knight drummed her fingers impatiently atop the rim of the marble fountain. "Guys, the longer we wait, the more time they have to get ready for us!" She addressed the entirety of the team now. "I'm with Blake. Lets take out that generator!" Playing detective had never been her cup of tea, but taking out objectives to secure tactical advantage? That sounded like a job for Havoc!

King K. Azo · March 9, 2016

He had figured it out. He had finally figured out why this was all happening to him! The universe wanted him dead, and it was doing its absolute best to do it. He was slashed in the chest, crashed on Earth, and then was put on this team. Obviously, the idea the universe had was to make him so absolutely angry that he burst a blood vessel and have an aneurysm, which would kill him.

Devious, universe. devious. It was working to. He didn't know what it was about Earthlings, but they were the most annoying species he had ever met, and he met a species that slapped faces as their language. Yeah, they were that bad.

The helmet Blake had made for them felt... wrong. He couldn't place his finger on it, but it covered too much of his head. And the HUD was too... cluttered. He was used to a streamlined HUD, only showing the bare essentials, like enemy placement, battle wound locations, a targeting system, etc. Still, it wasn't his place to complain.

Then they were ambushed, herded into the building like animals. They were outsmarted, taunted, and now were playing to Shira's hands. Not only was Lily Lady playing them for fools, now the villains were playing with them. He was taking deep breaths, but the air inside his helmet was heating up, a sure sign he was mad. The others minus Roxie were looking around the room, looking for clues.

"Guys, I think I found something!" Cygnus called, zooming in and clumsily snapping a shot of the scene with his helmet's camera. "The only problem is that I have no idea what it is... Sending you a copy now via file-sharing."

Ben quickly responded. "Not only that...but I don't recall any living animal having a print like that. Then again, magical creatures are ones I don't know too much about. Regardless, with this, I'm gonna suggest to keep on guard."

"It's not from Earth? Or at least naturally...?" Batsu asked. Was it magic? Ugh, he hated magic. It had no sense and... okay, now was not the time.

"Guys, the longer we wait, the more time they have to get ready for us!" Roxie called out. "I'm with Blake. Lets take out that generator!" Wait, a generator? Okay, he needed to pay attention more. What was going on again?

"Look, do you need me to go from room to room and create the fire?" He asked. That should destroy a lot of the Spore and kill the bad guys, right?

Saiba Aisu · March 10, 2016

GM Post:

(Main Atrium, ACNN24 Headquarters, 9:30 P.M.)

A cacophony of voices sounded from all sides as several of the Titans spoke up at the same time, seemingly divided on how best to proceed.

"Blake, how good are you at tapping into communication chips from a walkie-talkie?" Ben asked, traipsing his way back across the ceiling towards the others with the device clutched in one hand.

"Benjie, we're going up against a fancy pants evil organization... Put that thing down before you blow yourself up or something, ya?" Roxie called in his direction irritably, clearly impatient to start smashing things, starting with the tower's generator.

"Look, do you need me to go from room to room and create the fire?" Batsu offered, proposing his own solution.

"What would that accomplish?" Cygnus interjected coldly, crossing his arms as he rolled his eyes. "Besides wasting time, I mean. If Spore could be destroyed so easily, we would't need Lily, now would we?"

"Guys."

"You don't know that," Ben replied, leaping down from the ceiling and cradling the walkie-talkie as if it were a newborn baby. "It could be an important clue!"

"I'm telling you to get rid of that thing, now!"

There was a flash of gold as Roxie appeared at Ben's side, catching hold of the device from one end, grappling furiously with him for it.

"Don't give me that attitude, Cygnus!" Batsu retorted. "At least I'm suggesting something, rather than scrabbling in the dirt for clues like some half-witted wicfad!"

"Guys."

"I'm sure I'd be terribly offended... If only I knew what the hell you were talking about."

With a triumphant twist of the wrist and an almighty tug, Roxie tore the walkie-talkie from Ben's hands, turning and hurling it with all her strength in the direction of one of the upper floors. Seconds later, a powerful explosion rocked the room as the device struck the ceiling and ignited, blasting apart chunks of marble. Caught by the surprise, the Titans were once again forced to dodge out of the way to avoid the deadly hail of stone which fell to the floor with a resounding crash or sank into the fountain, scattering water in all directions.

"Whoops," Ben coughed, looking rather sheepish as he emerged from behind a potted plant a few moments later, one arm behind his head. "Guess it was a trap, after all.."

"GUYS!!"

The Titans winced in unison as Lily's voice, magnified to maximum sonic levels, blasted from the inner speakers of their helmets.

"Sorry, did I catch you at a bad time?" the biochemist inquired sarcastically. "You may be interested to know that Shira has begun broadcasting again."

"Damn it, the hostages—" Kiara began, getting to her feet, miraculously unharmed, though covered from head to toe in dust and rubble.

"No. You."

Silence.

"I'm looking at the six of you right now," Lily continued, a note of unease working its way into her voice. "Whatever's about to happen... Shira wants the entire city to see it."

Carrion was seething with anger, practically foaming at the mouth. He screamed with rage, the sound absorbed and diluted by his special helmet. The Master had given them their orders, they were to stay hidden and wait until the time was right to kill the Teen Titans. Everything had been going according to plan... Until one of the heroes had picked up the walkie-talkie. At first, he had been delighted, as if Christmas had come early—after all, the booby-trapped device had been purposely left out in the open in the hope of luring someone foolish enough to pick it up. His heart racing with twisted anticipation, he had watched as Ben took the device and headed back towards his teammates, blissfully unaware of what he was carrying in between his hands. As soon as the boy got within range of the other Titans, Carrion pressed the trigger, initiating the fifteen-second countdown to detonation. The resulting explosion would be enough to instantly vaporize at least two or three of them, leaving the rest critically injured and therefore all the easier to pick off one by one when the time came.

Or rather, it would have.

Apparently, not all of the Titans were as stupid as their little friend. One of the girls had picked up on the dodgy walkie-talkie right away, grappling with the boy for it, wrenching it from his grasp and hurling it with surprising strength towards the upper floors... Right where Carrion and his men were waiting, hanging from the ceiling, concealed. There had been hardly any time to react—the concealed bomb had exploded practically in their faces, blasting apart chunks of marble and knocking them backwards. When the Titans had first entered the room, there had been fourteen invisible assassins perched upside-down in a diamond formation like spiders, deathly still, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike. Now, with the low moans and torturous cries of his men filling his ears, it seemed to Carrion that they would be lucky if even four of them had survived the blast.

"This is Squad Leader Carrion," he hissed, spitting the words into his microphone, ignoring the painful chorus of the wounded and dying that surrounded him. "Sound off!"

"This is Abyss," came a shaky reply, from somewhere behind him, to his left. "Alive."

"Vulture, here.. Shell-shocked but alive. Charon wasn't as lucky though, I'm pretty sure that's his right leg on top of me..."

"Nightstalker. Alive. What the f*ck just happened?"

"Styx. I'm alive, though I have the worst headache..."

"Reaper," answered the last of them. "Alive. It was that little tramp, wasn't it? I saw her do it, the little sh*t, it's all her fault. Let me kill her, Squad Leader, please!"

"This is Shira. Report. Carrion, what's your status?"

Ignoring the survivors' complaints and questions, Carrion focused his attention on the last and most important of the voices.

"Master... The ruse didn't work, the Titans managed to see through the bomb and hurl it away at the last minute... And of all the places, they threw it towards us. Six of us are still alive, but the others..."

"Forget them," the Agent of Shira replied harshly, its synthesized voice pulsing with malice. "They're either already dead or too injured to be of any help. For now, focus on the Titans. There's been a change of plans—your new orders are to kill the intruders immediately. Understood?"

Behind the smooth facade of his helmet, Carrion's thin lips twisted into a bloodthirsty smile while the rest of his squadron—led by Reaper—cheered and roared in anticipation, hungry for the impending slaughter. One Titan for each of them. Perfect.

"Understood, Master. Thank you. It shall be done."

"I'll be watching, along with the rest of Aurora City. Don't disappoint me."

"You knucklehead!" Blake exclaimed as he got to his feet, water sliding from the contours of his armorsuit, having been drenched by a burst of water from the fountain. "You could have killed all of us! Next time, leave the technology stuff to me!"

"Come on guys, how was I supposed to know it was a trap instead of a clue?" Ben protested, raising his hands in defense. "Who booby traps a walkie-talkie?"

"Shira, that's who!" Batsu growled. "You've got to be the most Jevk'xoutot of all the earthlings I've met so far!"

"Stop it, all of you!" Kiara commanded, her voice ringing, cutting across their arguments. "I need to concentrate!"

It had only been for a split moment, right as the trick bomb had detonated, but she could have sworn she had felt a burst of strong emotion emanating from the upper levels of the room, far closer than any enemy had a right to be... Fear. Pain. Anger. The resulting explosion and hail of stone had been enough to temporarily break her concentration, forcing her to focus on staying alive. In any case, her experience from the handful of missions the team had completed had taught her one thing—better safe than sorry.

Taking a deep breath, Kiara closed her eyes and reached out telepathically once more, extending her psychic awareness outwards as far as she could... Only to collapse to her knees with a scream of agony as pain erupted savagely across her back from shoulder to hip in a long line of searing fire, as if her skin had been laid bare before the butcher's knife.

At the same moment, Roxie heard light footsteps from behind her. With all of her friends in front of her, the Knight didn't waste any time bothering to check—she may have lost track of Arondite in the explosion, but that didn't stop her from lashing out with a powerful back kick.

THUD!

The blonde's foot connected with something invisible but very solid, projecting the unseen object a fair distance away from her, leaving it to crash into a nearby puddle, scattering water in all directions. With Kiara's unearthly screams still sounding in their ears, the Teen Titans watched in horror as a ghostly figure clad into deathly white armor flickered momentarily into sight before them, a wicked scythe-like blade gleaming from its forearm. Unperturbed, the figure got to its feet with eerie smoothness and leaped back gracefully, fading back into invisibility as if it had only ever been a bad dream...

Leaving the Titans surrounded and faced with a pack of bloodthirsty phantasms.

[spoiler=OOC. Please Read.]

Alright guys, thanks for your cooperation and patience! We're back on track now and as I previously mentioned, I'd like us to see if we can't up our posting pace a little bit. For your convenience, I have included the following notes:

1. The team is now surrounded by Carrion and five of his henchmen/henchwomen, who form part of a high-ranking assassination unit within the terrorist network known as The Blade of Shira. Each of these expert assassins is clad in special light-weight combat armor which, in addition to providing protection, facilitates acrobatic movement, grants them adhesive properties that allow them to cling to walls, and possesses a built-in state-of-the-art optical camouflage system. As previously mentioned, this camouflage system renders the user undetectable to even the most advanced visor technology, save for the occasional brief flash of movement. They are also equipped with a metal vibro-blade, attached to the forearm, which is capable of cutting through most substances like a knife through hot butter. The only one of the team who isn't in immediate mortal danger is Blake, due to his armorsuit; however, letting them get free hits isn't a good idea, as they will eventually cut through to the vulnerable human body underneath. To get an idea of the assassins' attack style and evasive ability/enhanced reflexes, please refer to this clip.

2. As Ren previously mentioned in Skype chat that he will be unable to post very much due to his speech competition, I have taken the liberty of injuring Kiara so that she will be unable to actively take part in this encounter—at least at first. Ren, I will be providing more information to you via PM explaining the extent of her injury.

3. As of now, you guys are completely free to narrate your character's struggle against these enemies and control them as needed. There is one for each of us, but since Kiara is injured and unable to fight, the odds are in Shira's favor. If you wish, you may use the names I provided to refer to/control them: I'll leave that to your discretion. Apart from that, the only rules are that you cannot take these enemies out of commission or put them in a situation where another player cannot interact with them. To give you an idea of how powerful each individual enemy is, if we factor in their enhanced mobility, ability to inflict massive critical damage, and cloaking system, then you get enemies that are in the B- minus range—that is to say, more or less on equal footing with each of our heroes. I'm looking forward to seeing how you guys will take advantage of this opportunity to narrate an intense battle. Cheers!

As always, questions and comments will be addressed in the Skype chat. Teen Titans, GO~!! ♡

Super Chaos Sonic · March 10, 2016

"Benjie, we're going up against a fancy pants evil organization... Put that thing down before you blow yourself up or something, ya?"

Arachnid was a bit surprised that Roxie would be thinking like that. A walkie-talkie....booby-trapped? It was something unheard of for him. Sure it could've been used for an ambush, but blowing things up? Not likely.

"You don't know that," Arachnid replied, leaping down from the ceiling and cradling the walkie-talkie as if it were a newborn baby. "It could be an important clue!"

"I'm telling you to get rid of that thing, now!"

In a quick flash of gold, Roxie was there in front of him, furiously grabbing a hold of the walkie-talkie. "C-C'mon Havoc...let go...!" he grumbled a bit, struggling to keep a hold of his clue. Unfortunately, Roxie was a bit stronger (and I do mean A LOT) and she took the walkie-talkie and threw it high into the air...before it exploded. N-No.... Arachnid thought, completely at a loss for words.

He watched as huge chucks of debris and marble came raining down on him and the team. He back-flipped away as he dodged the debris.

"Whoops," Arachnid coughed, looking rather sheepish as he emerged from behind a potted plant a few moments later, one arm behind his head. "Guess it was a trap, after all.." He had glares from a few of the team...oh boy, he was about to get an earf-

"GUYS!!"

Arachnid winced as he held his head some, at the sounds of Lily's voice. He had almost forgot she was even still listening, due to the fact that she was a so quiet. But her recent outburst was needed. Shira was broadcasting again...but broadcasting the six of them. What was the purpose of this? It didn't make any sense to the wall-crawler... Why would they...?

"You knucklehead! You could have killed all of us! Next time, leave the technology stuff to me!"

"Come on guys, how was I supposed to know it was a trap instead of a clue?" Arachnid protested, raising his hands in defense. "Who booby traps a walkie-talkie? And besides, I know a thing or two about technology too, Tin-Man! I was thinking about the whole communications chip being used to listen in on Shira's conversations!"

"Shira, that's who! You've got to be the most Jevk'xoutot of all the earthlings I've met so far!"

"I don't even know what that means...but I'm fairly certain that is an insult!!" Arachnid grumbled as he shook his head. But inside, he was already beating himself over this fact. How was he to know it would've blown up? It was a mistake...he took into account for an ambush about the damned walkie-talkie, but not that it could've been used for a bomb. He felt terrible now...

BGM

Suddenly, his mind snapped out of his little beat up party, when he heard Kiara's voice cutting through. This was about the same time, Roxie apparently kicked a...something across the room and into a nearby puddle. Before them stood a ghostly apparition...clad in white armor as it faded in and out before them, before fading completely out.

"Now it's making sense." Arachnid spoke, fists clenching. "They started broadcasting again to show this off to the public. It's like a match at the old coliseums from ancient Greece and Rome. We're the entertainment and they the audience..." he said, both fists clenching tightly now. "Figli di puttana*..."

They were now surrounded by a group of bloodthirsty phantasms. They were going to have to fight their way out, no other option. But how do you fight something you...can't... That's it! he thought, grinning underneath the helmet.

Without rhyme or warning, Arachnid rushed forward from the group. He had a plan...and he knew it would work. Suddenly he felt a powerful kick into the gut as he was pushed back, landing on his back with the others.

"I don't think so, kid." a voice came forth as one of the phantasms stood before Arachnid, all he could see was a man-shaped space that distorted the air around him. "I ain't missin' any prey, that's why they call me Vulture."

Arachnid slowly stood up as he cracked his neck and exhaled slightly. He rushed back again, to his teammates this seemed like a lost cause.

"Heh, you don't learn do y-!"

BGM

In a quick shock to almost everyone, Arachnid had his punch collide with Vulture's face, he assumed. He shook his hand a bit, seeing an apparition of air skidding across the floor a bit, in shock.

"H-Hey! Ow...that hurt...wait!" Vulture said, standing up as he rubbed the spot on his helmet where Arachnid punched him. But this was impossible! "You hit me...HOW?!"

"Well ya know, I've eaten a lot of carrots...they're good for your eyes ya know." Arachnid replied sarcastically. "Truth be told...I'm not about to tell you anything about how I can see you. Would spoil the surprise!"

Vulture was cross now, as he rushed towards the wall-crawling hero. Arachnid, however, wasn't scared in the slightest. He watched as he saw a small line of pheromones trailing behind this invisible force. His spider was doing a marvelous job. He side stepped to his left, moving as his leg came in contact with Vulture's gut, he would've liked to believe anyway. He noticed Vulture dodging at an alarming rate as he jumped back towards a wall.

"Tch, your not that bad Spider-Brat. Quick and everything." Vulture said, before jumping on a wall and running along it.

"Guys...I'll handle Bird-Brain here." Arachnid smirked, giving a thumbs up. "I won't be letting him out of my sight." With that, he rushed towards the wall and stuck to it, running after Vulture, following the trail of pheromones. "What's the matter, Vulture? Chicken?"

"A funny one huh? Oh this will be even better than I hoped."

[spoiler=Speaking New Languages with Benjamin!]

*Sons of...(well I think you get the idea >_>)

King K. Azo · March 10, 2016

"Come on guys, how was I supposed to know it was a trap instead of a clue?" Arachnid protested, raising his hands in defense. "Who booby traps a walkie-talkie? And besides, I know a thing or two about technology too, Tin-Man! I was thinking about the whole communications chip being used to listen in on Shira's conversations!"

"Shira, that's who! You've got to be the most Jevk'xoutot of all the earthlings I've met so far!" Yes, anger was clouding his mind, causing him to insult Ben. He'd have to apologize later.

"I don't even know what that means...but I'm fairly certain that is an insult!!" Arachnid grumbled as he shook his head.

"Yes, yes it was," Batsu retorted as he looked around. No doubt Shira knew their plan had failed-He needed to remember to thank Roxie for that-, they would no doubt try to either spring another trap or attempt to attack them. They were broadcasting this, like a twisted version of the tournaments back home. No doubt they were fully confident they would strike the team down. Suddenly, a scream of agony caught his attention. He whipped his head around in time to see Kiara fall to her knees and Roxie to kick something, a loud thud being heard.

On instinct, Batsu took a running dive in the direction of the... thing, Roxie hit. He reared back his fist to see a puddle scatter its water in every direction and a ghostly figure materialize out of thin air. He swore it was smirking at him as it gracefully got back on to its feet and flipped away, vanishing and avoiding the fist that smashed into the puddle. Batsu scrambled into another jumping punch, swinging and hitting nothing but thin air.

"Well, aren't you a brave one... chasing after ghosts...?" The voice of his opponent taunted. "The brave are always the first to die...," Batsu ignored the taunting in favor of throwing a fist at the direction of the voice, once again hitting nothing but thin air. He then felt something slash against his stomach, a searing pain that caused blood to flow. "And first blood goes to me...," Batsu looked down at his stomach, nonchalantly creating a flame and running it against the wound, searing it shut. Sure, it hurt, but it was a very quick fix for this problem.

"First blood may be yours, but at least I will have some in my body when we are finished," Batsu retorted as he proceeded to torch the area in front of him. "Burn to the ground!!"

Ren✧ · March 11, 2016

There were certain things that Kiara had just learned to live with over the years. Her ears being just slightly uneven when she looked straight in the mirror. Her boobs never being big enough. The garden variety racist that would stare at her on the street. The more observant racist that would switch from the more common slurs to attack her mixed racial background. Of course those were all things she dealt with before her family was murdered and she was kidnapped, then indoctrinated into a cult. Needless to say, her cup size wasn't exactly something she worried about after that. There were so many new things to get used to after that.

The constant onslaught of emotions that weren't even her own constantly clouding her head. The headaches, oh God, the headaches. There were the nightmares of course. And people still stared at her on the street, but this time it was because of the tattoos. The funking tattoos. The root of all of these things she had to get used to. They activated the meta-gene, or at least that's what the scientist lady had told her after the Justice League had rescued her. They had acted as a stimulus to her latent powers. Those sigils were also the reason she couldn't be hurt. Or at least, it took a lot for her to be hurt. The scientist lady had had an answer for that too. They apparently generated some type of magical barrier fueled by some arcane frequency or...something? Kiara hadn't understood. She just knew that over the years she had managed to block out most of the emotions that weren't hers and if she listened closely enough sometimes she could hear a dull humming that seemed to be coming from her skin. Those were the new things that Kiara had to get used to.

So, when silencing her mind to search for Shira patrols there was a brief moment that she could hear the faint humming she had learned to ignore. The young Titan wouldn't have thought anything of it, except the humming suddenly lapsed...and it hadn't missed a beat in over 5 years. Then her back exploded with pain and the humming returned.

Crying out in pain, Kiara collapsed to the ground. Her vision swam with stars and not the telepathic or astronomical kind. Her breath came in ragged gasps as she tenderly inspected the damage. More cries of pain accompanied her movement, but she could gather that something had slipped through her barrier and had sliced her back open. Looking around she saw her teammates fighting...air? No that couldn't be right. Suddenly a figure in white armor flickered to existence and then disappeared again. More cloaking tech. Fortunately, Kiara could track their whereabouts psychically.

Reaching out telepathically Kiara tried to find these ghosts, but only found...pain? "Dammit." The excruciating fire in her back was making it impossible to concentrate on finding their invisible attackers. That meant she would do the team no good at the moment. She was in no shape to fight. The best she could do was just get out of the way.

Crawling over to a large piece of rubble that had been dislodged and fallen a fair distance from most of the conflict, Kiara could only hope that her teammates could do this without her.

[spoiler=Further Explanation]

If you are asking yourself: "How the sheet did that assassin's blade make it through Kiara's magical barrier?" Well, I (1) commend you for your observational skills and (2) have your answer. It is not, despite what I assume may be popular belief, due to the damage she took when the Titans came under fire a little while ago. The vibro-blade was able to penetrate the arcane barrier because it vibrates at a frequency that interferes with the frequency that the magical barrier gives off to protect Kiara. This let the blade inflict the wound that is now ailing our telepathic princess.

Saiba Aisu · March 11, 2016

In the space of a few short hours, Shira had unleashed a devastating campaign of terror against Aurora City. They had destroyed the Saint Dominique, hacked into the City Council's secure server, hijacked ACNN24 Headquarters, and kidnapped at least a hundred hostages with plans to broadcast their executions to the public. And behind all of their sinister designs, the apocalyptic threat of Spore, twisting and contorting in the darkness, splintering like a thousand razor-sharp shadows, endangering the very future of the world.

The moment they attacked Kiara, though, they crossed a line.

"I hope you enjoyed cutting down my friend," Cygnus snarled as he got to his feet, "because it's going to cost you your filthy lives!"

He vaguely registered swift acrobatic flashes of motion along the far walls, as well as the tell-tale scarlet-gold flicker of flames, paired with the voices of his teammates. Evidently, Ben and Batsu had wasted no time in joining the fray and had already engaged their own set of phantasms in combat. Now it was his turn.

Leaping off from an overturned table, Cygnus climbed high into the air, feathered wings of moonlight bursting from his shoulders, beating rapidly to keep him aloft. The lunar sorcerer took the moment to quickly survey the scene, relieved to see that Kiara had managed to put some distance between herself and the battlefield, taking cover behind a large piece of rubble. Still, so long as their enemies were invisible, they would be nearly impossible to track—there was no guarantee that one of them wouldn't sneak over in an attempt to finish the job.

"You're not the only ones that can lay down traps!" he declared, raising one hand to his mouth and taking a deep breath. "Karreylos Ethonim Cazar!!"

A dazzling stream of silver bubbles blossomed from his lips, expanding rapidly as they floated downwards through the air. Within moments the enchantment was complete with dozens of glowing spheres littering the area, drifting serenely a few inches above the floor in random patterns, forming a magical minefield. It didn't take long for Shira to trigger the trap—there was a loud pop as one of the invisible assassins accidentally collided with one of the bubbles, which promptly exploded in a hail of jagged shards of light.

"Found you!" Cygnus cried, silver light blossoming at his wrists with a magical hum as he hurled an explosive barrage of Moon Bolts in that direction.

Hälō · March 11, 2016

BMG

Roxie's eyes darted frantically across the room as battles erupted all around her. With Arondite nowhere to be found, the blonde found herself feeling slightly vulnerable. Though she didn't have time to dwell on the loss of her weapon; Cygnus had taken to the air, Ben was scaling the walls, and Batsu was spewing flames. "Well, I can't say I didn't ask for this..." She found herself mumbling as she got into a ready stance.

Glancing over towards Kiara, Roxie's stomach instantly tighten. An easy target within all the confusion-even with Cygnus mine field of bubbles. "Not on my watch." She growled before suddenly shooting towards her wounded comrade in golden blur whilst sweeping her leg in a wide arc across the space directly ahead of Kiara.

Once again the blonde's foot connected with one of the phantasms, causing the air to distort briefly as the assailant was sent skidding backwards."Gwah, you again?!" A female voice gave life to shimmering silhouette, as it slowly brought itself up to it's feet.

"It's basic battle strategy to pick off the wounded first..." Roxie retorted whilst landing skillfully on her hands and knees between Kiara and Reaper. "Try to lay another finger on her, and I'll make you disappear permanently." Roxie's tone oozed killer intent. Taking hostages was bad enough, but now these invisible sods thought they were going to hurt her friends and broadcast it like some shitty documentary?! No. The stars of this snuff film were going to be the idiots in the white suits- she'ed be sure of it.

Without warning the blonde dashed forward at inhuman speeds in an attempt to grab the specter, only to have the other woman vanish again only inches away from her face. "Damn." Roxie cursed as her eyes danced around the area in search for any clues about her opponents whereabouts.

"You think you're hot s*** don't you?" Reaper's voice called out from behind, followed by the all to familiar sensation of a boot the back. Stumbling forward, Roxie tried to return the favor with a wild swing, but was met with nothing but thin air. "You know what? This is better- perfect actually..." Roxie was a little faster this time; lunging towards the sound of Reaper's voice, only to be sent reeling backwards back a round-house kick from the specter. "I wanted to kill you anyway, whore."

"Oh?" Roxie shot back as she brought herself back up to her feet and rolled her shoulders. "Well lookie here, we have something in common after all, skank." Watching intently as Reaper distorted form phased back into nothingness, Roxie took a deep breath and got into a fighting stance. Her opponent was obviously skilled, meaning that she'ed need to dig deep into her back of tricks if she wanted make it out this. Her thoughts suddenly shifted to Kiara, causing her expression to grow colder. "Don't worry, love. I'll make them pay..." It was a silent promise. One that the other girl would never hear, but she intended to honor just the same.

"You obviously don't know who you're dealing with..." Reaper purred from somewhere nearby. "I'll just have to educate you before I slit your throat!"

".... Well ya, but who's fault is that, Mrs. Fancy Stealt- GAHH!" Roxie's quip was cut short by an armored fist the gut. Though unfortunately for he attacker, this was exactly want she wanted. Tightly gripping the phantasm's arm with her left hand, Roxie pulled the other woman's shimmering form in close so that she could feel the coolness of Reaper's armor against her forehead. There was no hiding at this range, and they both knew it. "Gotchya~" The knight manage to form a grin through her pained expression.

"Get this!" Reaper was fast to react, raising her blade arm high above her head in an attempt slice the knight in two. "Too slow!" Roxie roared in response, swiftly using her free hand to grab Reaper by the face, before suddenly pushing forward and kinetically boosting the stealth armor; sending Reaper flying backwards into a column with a thunderous crash. Though her victory was short lived. When the dust cleared from the destroyed structure, Reaper was nowhere to be found.

Before Roxie even had time to contemplate her next move, Reaper's voice sounded from her right. "Not bad..." Shifting her gaze to meet the phantasm, the blonde's eyes widened at the sight of one of the massive marble pillars falling towards her. Only narrowly escaping being crushed by diving to the side, Roxie was force to break off into a sprint as three more pillars began to fall, obviously having been cut down by her opponent. "But you're still f***ed!" Reaper suddenly appeared directly in front of her, having used the falling pillars as a way to herd Roxie into a trap.

What happened next was rather hard to follow. First, a savage hit to the girls temple causing her vision to blur, followed by five quick jabs that ended with a what felt like a sidekick to the center of Roxie's chest that sent her flying several yards back before colliding with one of the fallen pillars. Blood running down her lips, Roxie struggle to pick herself back up only to be met with the sound of running footsteps followed by a painfully familiar voice coming dangerously close. "Game. Set. Match!"

Super Chaos Sonic · March 11, 2016

"C'mon Bird-Brain...this is only delaying the inevitable!" Arachnid laughed, still chasing after the apparition that was Vulture, leaping from wall to wall until they made it to the ceiling.

Arachnid could see the man-shaped distortion of air stop short, as he smirked from under his mask and helmet. "End of the line, amigo." he said, as he tossed his hands forward, as spiders began to climb up from the walls to the ceiling around the masked teen.

"Heh, boss wasn't lying when he said you freaks were extraordinary." Vulture was heard chuckling.

"Freaks? Oh so working for a psychotic mad man with a bioweapon and being part of a team with some hi-tech equipment that Satellite would fan-girl over doesn't count?" Arachnid asked, laughing back. "Hello pot, names kettle. Guess what! I'm calling you black."

Vulture gave off a cackle as Arachnid could see the apparition's stance change slightly. "Then I suppose I am. But we're what you would call...a necessary evil."

"Something undesirable that nevertheless must be tolerated in order to attain a certain end." Arachnid spoke bluntly, his arms crossed.

"Oh? A funny guy AND a scholar...an interesting combination."

"What can I say? I'm full of surprises!" Arachnid smirked, as he rushed towards Vulture, seeing the pheromone trail continue to be given off. He watched as the apparition moved towards his right. He quickly changed his position and flipped, sending a powerful kick right to the invisible enemy's head.

"G-Gah!! Again?!" Vulture shouted, backing away.

Arachnid moved a bit, he was in a zone now. He could locate his enemy in a perfect manner that only he could notice. And what was more was that Vulture was completely oblivious to this. He leaped from his position and sent out another few kicks Vulture's way, only to see him barely dodging both of them. But to the assassin's surprise, Arachnid was bobbing his head some, humming a little tune to himself.

"What...are you doing?" Vulture grumbled, trying to get a grasp on this whole situation.

This question was only met with Arachnid shrugging his shoulders. "Dunno. This tune just came to me...and I'm digging it." he said with a laugh. He rushed towards the apparition once more, as he threw his hands in an "x" formation, watching as the spiders lunged at the invisible man...

...or so he thought.

BGM

Arachnid stood watching, seeing how his spiders just fell on top of nothing. Spider fell upon spider, all just ended up in a large pile. He was confused now. How... How did Vulture escape from his spider?

"Interesting little trick there, Spider-Brat." Vulture's voice sounded off around the surrounding area of the ceiling they stood on. He could see Arachnid rapidly snapping his head and neck around along with his body to find out where the voice's origin was coming from. "Unfortunately for you, I noticed your lil friend when you kicked me the first time here. Ingenious actually...following the poor dear and it's pheromones. But then again...such an elementary trick that I'm sorry I even fell for it."

"Yeah? Well it worked didn't i-" Arachnid shouted, pausing as he felt his arm in pain. He shouted in pain, looking to see that there was a pretty clean cut on his left arm. Obviously it wasn't supposed to sever it, nor put it out of commission, but it was definitely there to leave a message. Arachnid began to concentrate as a few spiders began to apply webbing to the wound like a bandage, but as they did this, Arachnid caught a right hook in the chest as he was pushed back.

"It's futile." Vulture's voice carried around the ceiling as Arachnid was doing what he could to fight back, only succeeding in hitting air. Not only this, but his spiders were getting nowhere either. "Fool me once...it won't happen again." Arachnid was hit again by another punch as he was knocked into the residing wall, slumping down as he clenched his fists.

"Tell me, Spider-Brat..." Vulture spoke, as the sounds of two blades sharpening themselves against one another was heard. Arachnid could only assume that it was from the arm blades he briefly saw from the other one. "Do you fear death?"

"D-Dunno...do you fear the cameras?" Arachnid asked, letting out a weak chuckle. "That's obviously why your hiding...cause you must have a face only a mother could love...not!" He wasn't sure what to do now, but he needed the time to think. He wasn't sure how much time he had...but he needed another plan of attack.

Mr. Hyde · March 11, 2016

A large explosion had occurred above the team. That device Ben had picked up earlier was a bomb, deviously planted by the controllers of the building.

"You knucklehead! You could have killed all of us! Next time, leave the technology stuff to me!" A lot more words could've expressed how Blake was feeling about the situation, but pissed would have to do for now. It was then that the team was seemingly surrounded by more assailants, although they seemed to be fewer in number. Roxie was the first to land a blow against the opposition, forcing them to fall into a puddle, and momentarily disengaging their camouflage. Looking back to the map he and Kiara had created, these guys didn't show up on the radar. They were exactly like those guys that had tried to kill them before they entered the building.

Blake's legs shook underneath his armor. Was he scared? He couldn't see the opponent...trained killers that wouldn't go easy on them. Blake scouted the scene only to realize that the rest of his team was fighting air. However, faint glimpses of electronic flickering could be seen when they moved about. Kiara wasn't in the fray.

There was a blow to the back of his head, one that snapped him out of his momentary stupor. Now he was under attack!

"Show yourself coward!" The taunt almost seemed like a plea. A faint sound of laughter could be heard. His HUD was indicating that his suit had taken major damage to the mid section. Looking down, a gash across his suit's abdomen had revealed itself, electricity spewing out of it as the circuitry beneath it was in tatters.

"I can't see them with my scanners....I'm at a major disadvantage here...things are getting heavy." Heavy...weight....density....THAT'S IT! "Satellite, scan the area for changes in the surrounding air's density!" With a cavalcade of calculations shown on his HUD, the suit was looking for a change in the air density in his general vicinity. THERE! Two feet behind him at 7 o'clock! Blake twirled around and thrust out his arms, grabbing hold of something firm. He made sure to tighten his grip as he whirled around again, throwing the Shira operative into the air. The assassin landed with a thud across the room. He had himself worried over nothing.

"That isn't gonna do me in that quickly kid!" Blake could see the changes in density, but this time the Shira operative had closed the gap at a breakneck pace. An incredible force made Blake jump back, and land on his back. This surely wouldn't be an easy fight.

Saiba Aisu · March 11, 2016

BGM

Even with his magical minefield serving as a guide, it was still incredibly difficult to pinpoint Shira's location with any certainty. Flashes of movement, bursts of raging fire, collapsing marble columns that raised thick clouds of dust and rubble—it seemed that no matter where Cygnus turned, chaos and destruction reigned supreme as his friends fought for their lives. A sudden pop sounded from below to the left as another of the silver spheres exploded seemingly on its own, discharging a burst of sharp needle-like projectiles as it dissolved.

"Got you!" Cygnus cried, launching another fierce salvo of explosive lunar energy, blasting apart the marble tiles on the floor. Brave words, but hopefully true—all he could do was hope that at least a few of the Moon Bolts had found their mark.

"Tch, this one is really starting to annoy me," Abyss growled, preferring to communicate on his team's secure radio frequency rather than give his target any sonic clues to his location. He leaped into the air, twisting smoothly out of the way of a series of incoming orbs, only too aware of what would happen if he were to touch them. The magic-user was deliberately limiting their movements with area-of-effect anti-personnel devices—he had to be dealt with, and quickly.

"You okay, Styx?" he demanded, directing his words to his right.

"Yeah, yeah, my armor absorbed most of it," Styx replied irritably, answering on the same frequency. "Those bubbles still hurt like a b*tch, though."

"Alright. I'm going to take him from behind, be ready!"

His teammate's agreement echoing in his ears, Abyss sprinted forward and leaped high off the ground with a hideous burst of speed, landing on all fours on the nearby wall. He began to climb swiftly, his long limbs twitching like those of a spider, working his way up towards the winged sorcerer.

"Damn it," Cygnus muttered, cursing softly as his dark blue eyes swept the battlefield intently. None of the spheres had exploded for the last several seconds—either he had managed to cripple the enemy, or they had decided to regroup safely away from the network of magical mines. Was it worth summoning more of them? He couldn't afford to waste energy, either, not with—

His gaze fell suddenly upon Roxie, sent flying backwards against one of the room's fallen pillars with a nasty thud. The blonde looked rather worse for the wear, struggling to pick herself up as a cruel female voice issued from somewhere nearby, every syllable dripping with menace.

"Game. Set. Match!"

"Not if I can help it! Karreylos Ethonim Ca-AGHHH!!!"

Cygnus' incantation was cut off abruptly as something invisible but very solid struck him from behind, cutting cleanly through his wings with a single stroke, leaving him to begin the long fall to the floor several stories below.

THUD. CRACK.

Cygnus hit the ground hard face-first, his helmet slamming against the marble floor. He lay there for a moment, bruised and battered, every muscle aching, hoping beyond hope that he hadn't broken anything. With a shaky breath, he forced himself to his knees, trying to get back up, to keep fighting...

"What's the matter, little bird? Did someone clip your wings?"

Styx laughed as he advanced slowly, his vibro-blade glinting in the light from overhead, fading in and out of visibility, relishing his victim's pain and helpless.

King K. Azo · March 11, 2016

Batsu smirked to himself as the flames died down. He had to have got him with the fire, right? A slight distortion in the corner of his eye told him no, he did not hit the stalker. The alien jumped back in time to dodge a blade swipe from his assailant, throwing a fireball at the spot. The lack of the the flames wrapping around his target told him that yes, he did miss.

"Over here...," Batsu heard Nightstalker whisper creepily behind him. The alien whipped around grabbing at the air. Much to his glee, he actually grabbed something. Batsu began to swing, throwing the body over his head and savagely bashing it into the ground. Grinning as he saw cracks form on the ground, he repeated the process, smashing the body over and over, forming multiple cracks around him and shaking the ground with each impact. Finally, he threw the body across the room, a smirk plastered on his face.

"How do you feel about that?" He snapped rhetorically as he dusted his hands off. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Cygnus face first in the ground, looking like he was in pain, and an enemy shimmering in and out of existence. Guess he would have to---

"Too easy," He heard Nightstalker say as Batsu felt something hit him under the chin. "You thought that was the real me? Aren't you a gullible one?" Seems the dead bodies had a use after all. Nightstalker then sent a kick to Batsu's shin and began to pound away at his body, easily hitting the alien's stomach, chest and arms. He was punching so fast, his arms would have been blurs to anyone that could actually see them, and Batsu felt each and every hit. Finally, Nightstalker let up on his barrage, striking one massive blow into Batsu's chest, sending the fire alien flying across the room and into the fountain.

Batsu was hurting, exhausted, and now pissed. His skin was literally steaming as he stood up, the heat his body was producing evaporating any water that touched him. He climbed out of the pool before getting a wonderfully destructive idea. Instead of blindly chasing his foe, he bent down and grabbed the edges of the fountain, growling as he began to lift it up. The ground cracked and groaned before it finally broke apart, water from the pipes spraying everywhere as the fountain was freed from its foundation. With a grin, Batsu gently tossed the fountain into the air so that it spun around, letting him grab one of the fancy things coming out from the top of it.

He then began to spin around, the water inside of the fountain beginning to also spray around, hopefully hitting more of these invisible targets. Now that the water was emptied out, he took aim...

"Stay down, Cygnus!" He roared as he threw the fountain at the swan prince's attacker, hoping to nail him. As he did though, he felt something slash his shoulder, causing the alien to cry out in pain and his white blood to spray everywhere.

"You should have worried about yourself," Nightstalker whispered as he then stabbed Batsu through his other arm. "Enjoy your death,"

Super Chaos Sonic · March 13, 2016

"D-Dunno...do you fear the cameras? That's obviously why your hiding...cause you must have a face only a mother could love...not!"

"Amusing...very amusing." Vulture cackled slightly, his voice sounding like he was getting closer and closer to Arachnid, who still sat on the ceiling, his back towards the corresponding wall...unable to move back any further. "Any final words, before you are severed from your team and this world in front of Aurora's eyes?"

Arachnid sighed slightly. "You aren't going to win..."

"Pardon me?"

"You heard me...you...and all of Shira...we WILL stop you." Arachnid said, slowly standing up. "We don't just stay down once we're hit...we get back up and kick the living hell out of those in front us!"

"Your final words...are so touching. Touchingly naive..." Vulture spat out. "You have lost here, accept it and move on to the afterlife."

Then the unthinkable miracle occurred...

Arachnid looked up (or down depending on your perspective) and saw Batsu doing something incredible. He watched as the alien warrior, in short, lifted the fountain and it broke apart. And with it's breaking, he watched as he spun the water out from it...this had happened. He watched as some of the water actually made it up to the ceiling and it happened. Before Arachnid's eyes, the water made contact with the apparition and he saw Vulture's tech short-circuit and appear before him.

"W-What?! That miserable little oaf!!" Vulture looked up/down at Batsu, throwing his hand to his side. "No matter...I'll still take you out!"

Batsu...you genius alien!!! Arachnid thought, as his stance changed now, seeing Vulture as his left hand moved slightly wild but it remained at his side. Now I can turn the tides...arigatou!

BGM

Arachnid rushed towards Vulture, watching him keep up with his movements with his dodges, only getting one or two hits in. He was surprised to see this fighter in action now, seeing how he was able to even move that quickly. The two opposing forces that were on the ceiling were heated in a fast paced hand to hand fight, both their quick reflexes allowed them to dodge some of the others strikes.

"A second wind, eh?"

"Heh...well, now I'm able to appreciate a good enough fighter before me." Arachnid smirked as he backed up slightly. "Truth be told...I'm having fun now!"

"You won't...after this!!" Vulture shouted, as his blades on his arms were brandished quickly before he rushed towards the wall-crawler.

NOW! Arachnid smirked, snapping his fingers as suddenly Vulture tripped over a sturdy spider web wire. He watched as Vulture lost his balance and began to fall off the ceiling, obviously towards his impending doom. "And now..." Arachnid said, holding his hands up quickly as he flipped his fingers up.

On Vulture view, he watched as a multitude of spiders began to swing from the walls and begin to work together in a fast paced speed, weaving a huge web. Once it was done, he crashed down onto it, seeing that it was sturdier than he originally thought. However, he was stuck tight onto the web, not being able to move.

"This is only a minor set back!!" Vulture shouted. "We won't fail!!"

"Yes you will..." Arachnid said, his hands moving in an "x" motion once more as the spiders began to work at attacking Vulture. He made sure to give them the orders of rooting and digging their ways into his suit to trash the hardware inside. "By now you should already know...villains...always lose." He said, before clasping his hands together, watching the spiders now beginning to spin webs around the assassin, cocooning him in it.

"Things change!!"

"They may." Arachnid shrugged, as he pushed off the ceiling and landed on the web and Vulture, as he punched his helmet slightly, enough just to rattle him. "But heroes evolve...meaning we'll always come out on top!"

"You stupid Spider-Brat!!"

Arachnid laughed before jumping onto just the web and used it as a spring, watching as a few spiders already made another web rope behind him, preparing to launch him like a sling-shot. "Spider-Brat? I think it's time you and me got on a correct name basis..." He said, before being slung towards Vulture, his feet in position for a kick. "It's...the Amazing, the Spectacular, the Sensational...ARACHNID!!!"

The moment Arachnid's feet made contact with Vulture's chest, he snapped his fingers as the spiders began to cut ties with their web, as Vulture was launched down towards the lobby floor. Arachnid gracefully grabbed a hold of the web rope he was slung off of and flipped himself onto it. "H-Heh...Adieu, feather brain!"

Hälō · March 13, 2016

As Reaper moved in on her pray, her attention momentarily was stolen by the sight of one of the Titans ripping the fountain out of the ground and tossing it, sending water spraying everywhere. Skillfully pivoting her body to dodge a blast of liquid, the assassin continued her advance on the Roxie. "Die!" She snarled before drawing her bladed arm backwards and peering into her targets eyes to take in the girl's final moments. This was by far the best part of her job. The killing blow. Watching as the target submitted themselves to death and- wait, was this b**** smiling?!

Indeed she was. Just as the shimmering form of Reaper had appeared right on top of her, Roxie's bloodied lips curled into a small smirk that was just barely visible through the visor of her helmet. Bringing her arm up and forming a gun with her fingers, the blonde's smile grew wider as she brought her thumb down as if pulling the trigger just as Ripper's blade was moments from penetrating her skull.

"Bang!"

BMG

Without warning, several blinding explosions consumed the pair, causing the phantasm to stumble backwards in a shimmering distortion. "f*** MY EYES!" The woman roared in pain, before instinctively taking another leap backwards to avoid any oncoming attack that might have came her way.

Having been prepared for her flash bombs to go off, Roxie was already on her feet. "You blokes actually thought fancy suits, and cheap tricks were all it took to beat us? That we're a bunch of kids???" The blonde called out as she opened her eyes and got into a ready stance. "The Titan's are the real deal, and this our city... DON'T UNDERESTIMATE US!" Without warning, Roxie shot forward in flurry of gold, meeting Reaper helmet to helmet in a brutal headbutt.

"Oh, I'm gonna gut you, b****... " Reaper growled as she was sent skidding backwards, he vision only just now returning from whatever trick the blonde tramp had used. Noting that the visor of her helmet had begun to flicker violently, the assassin was forced to go the defensive as Roxie leaped forth again in an attempt to follow up with a kinetically charged jab. "Not a chance!" Though Reaper's voice held small hints of frustration, she still manged skillfully swat the blonde's fist away and counter with her own jab. "This is Reaper, my armor has taken heavy damage but I still have the upper hand... You all better be alive." She spoke into a her communicator as the pair began exchanging blows in a blur of high-speed movement.

Realizing that the blonde had no intention of backing down, Reaper let out a grunt before leaping backwards in an attempt to regain the advantage; skillfully flipping to her right and vanishing from sight once again. Though this time Roxie was ready. "Where do you think you're going?" With another grin, Roxie snapped her fingers, causing an explosion to suddenly erupt a few feet behind her, bringing a stumbling Reaper into focus.

"GWAH!" Reaper cried out in agony, gripping her side as she racked her brain for answers whilst smoke billowed from the point on her armor that had just exploded without cause."What did you do me?!" She demanded, only to receive a round house kick in response. Ducking under Roxie's attack, Reaper's eyes suddenly widened in shock as a two metal spiders crawled into the center of her visor.

"BANG!"

The specter was sent stumbling backwards by another two explosions, further damaging her helmet and causing her armor's stealth technology to fluctuate even more. Suddenly it all made sense. Sickened by her own stupidity, Reaper recalled the moment when the Blonde had grabbed her arm- she must have planted these spider shaped grenades on her then. That was the only possible explanation...

"Damn you... You think this will change anything? You thin- "

"Shut it already, will ya? You talk more than Benjie......" Now longer entertaining the woman by exchanging banter, Roxie sprinted forward with open palms. Watching as Reaper attempted to swipe at her with her now visible blade, Roxie swung on of right hand upward, setting off a small shock wave that blasted the blade backwards with surprising force. "Roxie-Gun." She said coolly whilst twisting her left hand downward and cocking it back at her side. Using Reaper's obvious shock to her advantage, the knight took the opportunity to charge even more energy into her palm before thrusting it into the other woman's stomach and setting off second shock-wave.

Reaper's body was sent flying backwards, but the woman still refused to give up. Skillfully catching her balance and regaining her form with s back flip, the now fully visible Reaper got into a sloppy fighting stance. Though this time Roxie was the one who was now where to be found.

"Game." Roxie's voice sounded from behind, causing Reaper's heart to skip a beat. Cloaked in the golden aura of her overdrive state, Roxie watched as her opponent pivoted around and attempted to lunch a desperate counter before sending the woman flying into a nearby wall with a fully powered kick. "Set." Panting slightly from the expended energy, Roxie landed on all fours, only to re-enter her Overdrive form, and dash towards the armored figure that had already begun to free itself from the small crater it had created on impact. "Match."

Appearing directly in front of her target with both hands cocked backwards, Roxie gathered as much energy as she could muster before swinging both palms forward into Reaper's chest with her palms spread wide. "ROX-GUN, DOUBLE BARREL!" The resulting shock-wave shook the entirety of the wall, sending a wave of force across the room. When the dust finally cleared, Roxie could be seen standing in the entrance of a large spherical indentation with a crumbled white figure sitting lifelessly at the far end.

Now panting violently, the blonde took a moment to stare at the Reaper's corps before slowly turning towards where the rest of her comrades were still doing battle. "I'm all done on my end. How is everyone holding up?" She spoke into her helmets mic, before slowing dragging her feet towards where Kiara was hiding.

Saiba Aisu · March 13, 2016

BGM

"What's the matter, little bird? Did someone clip your wings?" Styx taunted, laughing as he drew closer, flickering in and out of visibility every few steps, relishing his opponent's pain and helplessness.

Get up, get up, GET UP!! Cygnus screamed to himself, scrabbling desperately at the floor and struggling to get to his feet, only to fall back to all fours. No good—his body was still in shock from the fall, every muscle throughout his frame blazing with pain. Time... He needed more time.

Of course, that was the one thing he didn't have any more of.

"Any last words, pet?" Styx asked, coming to a halt before him and raising one arm high above his head, his vibro-blade gleaming like the axe of an executioner.

"STAY DOWN, CYGNUS!"

He vaguely registered Batsu's voice, followed by a powerful gust of wind as something tremendously heavy and unseen flew overhead, smiting the assassin in passing with an ear-splitting crash. Finally daring to raise his head, Cygnus could make out the splintered ruins of the marble fountain against the far wall with a pair of twisted legs lying motionlessly beneath the dripping wreckage.

"STYX! NO!!!" came an agonized howl from nearby. Abyss was frozen to the spot, his arms held limply at his sides, heedless of the water sliding from the contours of his armor and the faint whine of his optical camouflage as it short-circuited. He turned towards Batsu, using his blade to signal out the alien warrior with all the authority of the Fates themselves.

"You f*cking punk," the assassin hissed, each sibilant syllable disfigured by pure rage, utterly indifferent to the fact that Nightstalker was already fighting the young Titan. "I'll KILL you for that!"

Abyss hurtled forwards, vibro-blade at the ready, only to pull up short with another curse as a shining nexus of light descended before him. Whirling around, he could see the same silver lattice stretching out on all sides to form a continuous sphere—a magical cage about 15 feet in diameter, with him at its center.

"Aren't you forgetting something?" Cygnus asked idly, advancing towards his enemy with his usual graceful gait—the pain was still there, but he could fight through it now. He had no other choice. "In case you've forgotten, I'm your opponent."

"I'll deal with you next, pretty boy," Abyss spat, clenching his fists. "I'm warning you, undo the spell!"

"The only way you're stepping outside this cage is over my dead body," the sorcerer replied coolly, brushing himself off with one hand with superb indifference.

"That can be arranged!" Abyss roared, leaping forwards with a wild diagonal swing, attempting to cleave him in half.

CLANG!!

The sound of metal upon metal echoed across the battlefield as Abyss' scythe came to an abrupt halt, parried by a shining blade of silver light.

"You're not the only one who knows his way around a blade," Cygnus sneered, tightening his grip on his conjured weapon, using the sword to force his opponent back a few steps. "Let's see which one of us is the better dancer, shall we?"

For a moment, there was silence, unbroken save for the faint hum of the cage as the two duelists sized each other up. There would be no flying this time, no fancy acrobatics—the magical barrier left room for none of that. Swordplay alone would determine the outcome of this battle. The silence stretched on, oppressive and almost unbearable, until...

CLANG! ZZZINK! CLANG!

Both sides lunged forward, exchanging a flurry of blows so fast that they were reduced to blurs. Cygnus duck and wove expertly, his feet flickering across the floor in complicated steps, his blade singing as it wove a deadly web of silver. Abyss' technique was less sophisticated but more brutal, preferring to use staggering full-power strikes. Step, step, parry, dodge, swing, parry—the duel raged on, neither side giving an inch, both knowing that their first mistake would be their last.

Cygnus' left leg suddenly trembled and buckled under him, still weak from his terrible fall, forcing him to one knee. With a roar of triumph, Abyss redoubled the intensity of his assault, striking again and again from overhead, pushing the sorcerer's sword back with each blow, until at last he knocked it cleanly from his grasp.

"Die, Titan scum!!" the assassin cried, bringing down his blade for the coup de grâce.

At the last moment, Cygnus exploded out of his feint and to his feet, whirling to one side, his enemy's weapon so close that it grazed his arm in passing, moonlight flashing from his fingers as he summoned a new sword. As the Blade of Shira's scythe crashed against the marble floor in a blaze of sparks, Cygnus spun out of his pirouette, swinging his sword in a single powerful arc, loaded with centrifugal force... and cutting cleanly through his enemy's neck.

"Échec et mat,"¹ the Frenchman murmured softly, watching as Abyss' body collapsed to its knees and then sprawled on the ground with a final spasm, its severed head toppling from its shoulders and rolling across the floor.

Cygnus straightened while the magical barrier around him dissolved in a burst of miniature stars, his lunar sword still clenched tightly in one fist, mindless of the blood dripping slowly from the gash on his left arm.

"This is Cygnus," he replied, answering Roxie's question. "Enemy terminated."

[spoiler=Learn French with Swordsman Cygnus: Today's Lesson]1. Checkmate.

Mr. Hyde · March 13, 2016

He had hardly had enough time to recover from the recoil when that same invisible pressure had forced itself on top of him. A loud crash could be heard somewhere else within the lobby, and droplets of water revealed his opponent, if only for a split second. The position his assailant had taken on top of him was that of a killer, ready to bring his knife down on his victim's heart. Blake tried to rise up and stop this attempt on his life, but a foot landing on his chest made his attempt useless.

"Game over, punk!"

Blake's thrusters began to ignite. Under his helmet, he could be seen almost steaming.

"You think this is just a game?!" With that, Blake was whisked away from under the Shira operative, and started flying around the whole battlefield. He had to get away...had to pick up some speed. After all, his maneuverability was leagues above these ninja wannabes. But how wrong was he? The Shira agent had rebounded off of the walls and ceiling to get a diving kick into Blake's back. As the agent gracefully found his footing, Blake was frantically trying to re-stabilize himself, but to no avail. He crashed not far off from where the fountain had resided, rubble mixed about the floor. He could tell the Shira agent was walking up to him, slowly, as if to say that he was the victor in all of this.

"Well well...looks like the Tin Man was no match for Shira's top operative eh?" The Shira Agent's camouflage had been let down, and what he came to face was a man in a suit, a vibrating blade on his wrist that had been unsheathed. "Before I kill you, I'll tell you my name. It's the least I can do after all." In the corner of Blake's HUD, he could see a glint of something metallic behind the rubble he was laying amongst. He slowly inched his arm ever so close to it. "Well the name is...Carrion!" Wait...was the villain giving him a chance? Telling him to carry on? He was quite the cocky bastard. Blake grasped the object, and smiled as he did so. Carrion brought his Blade down, but Blakes head moved towards the side to dodge it.

Blake's right hand then rose from the rubble, Arondite clasped in his hand. The gears in his suit whirred as he swung it with all his might, the sound of metal hitting metal rang out through the lobby. Blake's swing had landed right in Carrion's gut, and he was rocketed across the battlefield once more. This time landing against a wall, and making a rather Carrion shaped crater in the wall along with him. Blake had now gotten up from his position and started to flip Arondite around.

"I'm all done on my end. How is everyone holding up?"

"This is Cygnus. Enemy terminated."

"Strike!.....Wait, no...I hit him...uhm....uhm...Homerun! Yeah that's it!" With his lame quip delivered he radioed into the other Titans. "Blake here. Almost struck out, but luckily I dispatched of mister showboat over here." With his fight over, he looked around the battlefield to see how his other Titans had fared, but what he found shook him to his core. Blood, and mangled bodies lined the lobby floor. "What....what is this..." He dropped to his knees, and Arondite dropped from his hand, clanking as it hit the floor. It took every ounce of his being to not throw up that instant. He managed to open his visor to do just that. His hands shook.

His team...had murdered these people.

Were they even better than what Shira was?

King K. Azo · March 19, 2016

Nightstalker couldn't believe the rest of his team fell so easy. These were just a bunch of teenagers! He would have to pick the rest off one by one. But still, he had to finish off the one he was fighting first. With his arms all but sliced off, the alien wouldn't be a threat, which meant he could do what he loved best without any danger. He had his blade ready as he stood in front of Batsu, camo still on.

"You know what I like best? I like to watch the light in a person's eyes slowly fade as they die. That's why I prefer this blade... it's much more personal...," Nightstalker monologued.

"Yeah? Well, I like it when timrujjoj like you walk straight into a trap...," Batsu retorted. Okay, that was a bit of a lie, but hey, he'd take credit for it.

Batsu opened his mouth and let out a torrent of fire, engulfing Nightstalker. The armor protected the Shira agent, but it surprised him enough to give Batsu the opening he needed. The alien kicked off the ground, ramming his head into the gut of the enemy, sending the agent into a puddle, disrupting his cloaking device. Batsu rolled to his feet, his arms dangling uselessly at his side. With a grin, he leaned back while forcefully kicking one leg forward, hitting Nightstalker in the chest and sending him flying across the room, crashing into a wall.

Was he alive? Was he dead? Didn't matter, he was out, and they needed to move on. Batsu looked over to the others. Pretty much everyone was in bad shape.. Blake was even vomiting. He was not going to like what happened next then. The alien sprouted two extra arms and walked over to the others.

"Mission complete. ... Can someone do me a favor and rip off my extra arms?" Oh, he knew Blake would not like this.

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Teen Titans: Twilight of the Gods (IC/Limited Acceptance/S/PG-16)

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